Mostly what has been said already, New Vegas gave the feel I was expecting from a Fallout based in the location of Las Vegas. But how it came to be with the factions surrounding it absolutely astonished me, the NCR - a democratic federation that watches over New Vegas and uses it freely by letting their soldiers on leave gamble, party, get laid, have fun, etc.Then there's the Legion, an autocratic, traditionalist, totalitarian slaver society that basically opposes the NCR's ways and methods.

New Vegas may not have had an emotional storyline like Fallout 3 but it made up for it by having a more complex, more interactive outcome. Mostly by choosing a faction.

This won't stop me from leaving credit where credit is due, Fallout 3 gave me an experience I'll never forget and we'll always remember it as 2008's Game of the Year.

As much I like Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas beats it by far because of the development of characters.

Most of all the companions... It bugged the very hell out of me how we couldn't see more of Fallout 3 companions and their characters themselves like we would with the other games. So Fallout New Vegas showing us how they develop got major points from me.

I don't think we can say that either is strictly "better" than the other. Here's my comparison:Fallout 3:Definitely takes the prize for pace and storytelling, a suspense filled drama that feels like death follows you around. Difficulty and gameplay were perfectly balanced against one another, with scarce resources and enemies everywhere, and finally great characters that grip you (NV has that too). However it is a little restrictive with choices, and the stock ending does end abruptly.

Fallout NV: Better gameplay than 3, with its fixed gun mechanics, a dark comedy jam with funny characters, familiar faces, and a much better environment than 3 (in my opinion I prefer the Mojave, but I'm a West Coast guy). Great new faction system, with questlines and choice for each of them. It only suffers from being a little too easy and atmosphere is a little lacking.

Conclusion:Both do exactly what they were designed to do perfectly, and it depends on either the personal preference or mood of the player to decide which they prefer. I love both equally, but if a choice would have to be made, I would take FNV, only due to the fact I love the weapon mechanics.

_________________I may be mistaken, but I'm never wrong - Ser Charles Barkley

I have to say Fallout 3 and no it's not because it's the first fallout game I modded and found myself here but because I knew what I had to do in Fallout 3. Opposed to Fallout NV that felt very boring and bland so much landscape, But so little things to kill in fallout 3 I hardly ever ran out of things to kill and it had the Doom traped in hell type feel to it almost like if you died you would be stuck in hell forever, While in NV all I got was these forces known as the NCR that don't even have any working vehicles outside of the vertibird that you can one shot with a UMP.45 and troops that make me want to crack WW1 jokes that no one could take seriously along with Caesars legion running around in red like they're on meth or something I just really couldn't take NV seriously at all and once you get done with the main story line it's over no more free roam for you. And the DLC's for Fallout NV...Let's just say never buy them under 1$

I felt that Fallout 3 forced you to be a good guy by if you went the bad route, you nuked a city.If I was looking for my Dad in a wasteland I wouldn't blow up a connection to civilization.

In Fallout New Vegas however you are a courier. No one tells you who you were before besides being shot in the head. You get to go out and create your own story, unlike in Fallout 3 where it is canon that you were the good guy. There are a MULTITUDE of endings to choose from, how different settlements ended up, faction status and finally, companion status. I felt that I was free in a sense, that I could go the south road to New Vegas, or all the way through the Primm/Boulder City path in Fallout 3 it always felt like the main quests were how you got to your father finally. It also added much needed iron-sights and Hardcore mode.

Also the Old War Blues DLC was my favorite of all the DLCs, adding to the overall story of Ulysses and adding those creepy connections to Dead Money and how some creatures were created. My least favorite is definitely Mothership Zeta, so much so that I completely rushed the whole DLC in under an hour.

No mods and just base games, it would be fallout 3. New Vegas I haven't beaten, not because it's hard, but because it was so boring. Gameplay in new vegas was better but the story and characters were drier than the ones in Fallout 3. The new enemies were either silly or rehashed silly and don't even get me started on the landscape. FO3 gave some better performances and I actually gave a shit about the characters, but New Vegas... Sunny Smiles , Veronica, and Raul. Sunny should have been a companion. Also FO3 felt like it had depth and the DLC offered were great except for ZETA. I really can't say much for NewVegas DLC I only played Dead Money. New Vegas is a good game but only with mods, in my humble opinion

Fallout NV had the best lore, gameplay, RPG elements and overall experience.

But Fallout 3 had the ambience, atmosphere, character depth, emotions and also the best music. Anything Goes was way better than Johnny Guitar. I also felt bad that I'd just nuked one of the only friendly cities in the Wastes, and killed all those friendly people like Sheriff Simms and Moira Brown. Especially when Dad brings it up after Tranquility Lane (Greatest Fallout Quest of all time IMO). I never ever felt that way in NV.

So due to that, I'd say if you were looking for a great storyline with feels4days, go for FO3, but for the most action, gameplay and immersion go for NV.

The world in New Vegas feels cohesive and like an actual post-post-apocalyptic place (though, admittedly, it's not like Fallout was known for being serious after FO2 and the west coast had already had two protagonists help get it to that state); the towns make sense; the factions are fighting over legitimate stuff; the characters and their wishes, desires, shortcomings and so on all feel "right". I can take a stroll around the Mojave for the zillionth time and go "Yep, this seems fair enough", but the Capital Wasteland? N o p e. Megaton and several handfuls of other stuff seemed so silly on first encounter, but holy shit, I was not prepared for Little Lamplight - it being a reference doesn't mean anything when it's part of the main questline - Bethesda worlds are theme parks with amusement rides scattered about instead of legitimate worlds with valid, albeit sometimes "less than exhilarating", locations; I can't fault those that just want their zany lolsofallout humour and heavy combat focused Fallout video game with something CRAZY happening around every corner, but I like to really get into the world (and I'm biased having already had a vested interest in west coast Fallout happenings) and immerse and I can't do that so well in Bethesda Fallout, as they showed me again with FO4. I can enjoy them in the same way I would with watching any random popcorn flick, but I don't have that same draw with them that I do with New Vegas, not even remotely.

Fallout 1. It's small but everything is so engaging. Fallout 2 is a bit lost since your tribe don't really need you. How about move to a different place to live? It's not practical to search a GECK in their tales.

New Vegas just for how it's story is set outtheres so much more freedom in how you chose to leave the mojave the ending aligns more with your own true opinion, in fallout 3 it was "save wasteland like a hero", "save wasteland like a wimp", or "doom all of wasteland (bar the enclave)"plus the revenge story felt so much more engaging IMO, you didnt feel rushed into finding family, in NV I always felt more inclined to take my time, I even felt a greater sense of reward finally making it to new vegas than finding my dad.

If your looking for a more serious game fallout NV without the wild wasteland perk is also for youAs I think about it fallout 3 had vampires and a talking ghoul tree

I'm gonna say NV. My first game was Fallout tactics which is widely considered the worst fallout game in the franchise and I thought it was okay so imagine how I felt when I picked New Vegas. I played everyday for a month. Just itching for a fix so I bought 3And.. Well I just felt like it was a step down, you know. People love fallout 3 because It gives them the feeling of being alone, in a wasteland. With danger lurking in every corner. But not me, I prefer the desert. It's why Fallout 3 aaand 4 are just collecting dust..